The Winchester brothers' new friend
by Celtic-Spaniard
Summary: When a young Huntress, Sophia, runs out of the woods late one night, Dean nearly runs her over. Then the boys decide to take her in, that's when they're worlds get turned upside down... Disclaimer: I only own Sophia and Kim
1. Mysterious Runaway

The crisp night air inside the black '67 Impala went hot and rank with the scent of burnt rubber as Dean spun the tires wildly. Sam sat pensively, blocking out the old Black Sabbath cassette tape that blared and boomed from the speakers. Aside from the extremely loud music, the young men sat quietly in the car together, racing down the empty stretch of asphalt in the dark night.

Suddenly, the younger one felt the need to turn his head sharply to the right, as he did he caught sight of a frantically moving splotch of light bursting through the trees. Most likely someone was running with a flashlight. But who, he thought, would go running in the woods this late at night? The brightness of the light stayed the same, which implied to Sam that the batteries in the flashlight were dying… and quickly.

"DEAN! Slow down, man!" He cried as his older brother slammed on the brakes just in time to reveal the runner without hitting them. As the car came to a screeching halt, a young girl, no older than Sam, stopped dead in front of the car and slammed her hands on the hood of the engine; dropping the now dead flashlight in the process. An expression of pure fear was clearly illuminated and accented by the headlights. Breathing heavily, she looked straight back at the shocked brothers, began to cry tears of relief, and slowly sank to the ground, causing both of the young men to leap from the car.

Dean being the protective, hard as rock type, slammed the driver side door yelling, "What in the _hell_ is going on here! I could have killed you!"

While the younger brother walked quickly over to the girl and gently helped her to her feet, speaking smooth, comforting words.

"You alright? What were you running from?" Her eyes darted wildly from one man to the next, "What's the matter?"

Focusing on Sam, she continued panting and attempting to squeeze out at least one word of an answer: "Help. Run. Now." And with that, her vision went pitch black as she collapsed into Sam's arms.

"Aw _damnit_! Just what we needed; a narcoleptic runaway on our hands… perfect!" Dean exclaimed sarcastically into the dark empty highway, surrounded by vast stretches of woods on either side. His baby brother tenderly scooped up the girl. "…suicidal narcoleptic runaways… not the best thing to just pick up off the side of the road, Sammy, you scared the living shit out of me a minute ago." Instantly winning him one of Sam's '_Well no shit, Sherlock'_ looks.

"Dean!" He grumbled as he hurried, girl in tow, for the passenger door, "She said run, so maybe we had better RUN!"

Dean glared at his brother as he threw open his car door, jumped in, and slammed it shut again. "Fine, but as soon as she wakes up… she'd better have one _hell_ of a story!"

"Bro, trying cleaning all that sand out of your snatch, will ya? Something isn't right; I got a really bad feeling about this place. Let's get to the next town or something before you start drilling people with the bad cop attitude." Sam said with an unusual tinge of fright hanging ominously on his words. His brother's stone face softened a bit as he stole a glance at the sleeping form in Sam's arms. She had bits of leaves and twigs in her long dark hair, there was a large, nasty gash covering about a third of her forehead just over her left eye. That lovely detail was accompanied by more cuts and bruises that were scattered about her body, leaving large rips and holes in her clothes. Dirt smudged her skin where the cuts and dried blood had missed. She looked so delicate and small in his arms, but Sam could still see that this girl normally had a fiery spirit and a sharp wit. For as helpless as she seemed, from the moment they first saw her, he knew she was anything but.

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_Eh... this one is a shorty, I apologize for that. Most of the chapters to follow will be significantly longer, and I'll have a few of those up shortly. Soooo... be patient, and in the meantime, send some reviews so I know what needs tweaking or what needs to be scratched completely, or whether or not it's worth going on about for chapters and chapters. I hope you like it, the idea has been stuck in my head for weeks, nearly drove me mad! Good stories tend to do that, so hopefully this isn't an exception to that idea._

_I'm pretty sure Sophia isn't a Mary Sue, for all the fanfic's I've written, not all that sure what a MS is. I just like having fairly strong female characters in my stories... sure she shows alot of vulnerability, but she's generally pretty strong._

_Anyway, I digress so that you may go write me a lovely review. Later! _


	2. The best therapy: letting it all out

**Disclaimer: All I own is the waitress, Sophia, and Kim... I don't even own Sophia's car... crap :(**

**Annonymous & Professor Simms: Thanks for the encouraging reviews, and because I caught them before work... I GIVE YOU!... Chapter 2! **

**Enjoy! And keep those wonderful reviews coming!**

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The boys had parked at an old diner in the next town over by the time their hitch hiker's eyes fluttered open. For a moment she felt quite confused, sitting inside the car that had nearly killed her in what felt like moments ago… and to make it more confusing… she wasn't sitting in a regular seat… it was harder, a bit lumpy and very warm…

When she turned her head ever so slightly to see what exactly was going on she found that she was sitting on the lap of the young man from earlier. She had told them to run… and run they had, with her. But as soon as she lifted her head, everything in sight began to spin and melt together, resulting in a killer migraine. Sam tenderly drew her hand away from her head after feeling her begin to stir and groan in pain.

"Hey," he said quietly, gently, "good to see you're alive. You might not want to touch your head… you've got a couple of scrapes. How are you feeling?"

"Ugh… like road kill, where the hell am I?" the boys couldn't help but grin at her reaction.

"You," Dean began to say, as he flashed his usual cocky grin, "are safe and sound at some seedy, side-of-the-road diner in central No-Where-Ville, along side the Winchester boys. You're a lucky girl; some people would kill for the honor." She laughed a bit, or so they had thought she laughed, merely smiling was making her wince.

Even as she got out of the car she felt a lot warmer than when she had initially run into the boys, she waited a minute for the spinning to slow down before she looked down to see the damage. 'Wonderful,' she thought, 'another new pair of jeans ruined! Wait…. This isn't my jacket…' Remembering that the man whose arms she woke up in had been wearing the same brown zip up hoodie earlier. Her head shot up to look at him with a look of surprise and slight confusion.

"To cover up most of the rips and cuts and whatnot… sorry if it smells…" He said shyly, thinking that she, like most girls, would be disgusted by the smell of burnt tires.

"I like the way it smells, it reminds me of…" she looked away with a forlorn look in her eyes for the pause, and then looked back with a fake smile, "never mind." Biting her already cut lip she looked in one of the rear view mirrors to see the damage on her face, from the looks of it, while she was passed out, Sam had cleaned most of the dirt, grime, and blood off of her face. Only the large gash on her forehead and the pretty little bruise that had already begun to form on her right jaw line. "Ha, I'm guessing I was a right mess when you guys found me."

For as high strung as Dean came off as being, he had the most captivating eyes when he smiled. "Ah, don't worry about it; we've gotten ourselves into worse shape."

The girl smiled as she breathed deeply, shivered a bit as she stood up, wrapped the jacket tighter around herself, and followed Dean inside the diner as Sam came quickly behind her. The young Winchester taking careful note of how she seemed to weez at the end of a deep breath, and how cold she seemed; she had been running through an old damp forest in the wilderness of Georgia with a cut up thin sweater in the cold frosty dead of a February night… for all he knew she could have caught some kind of cold, something that would only get worse if they didn't either warm her up quickly or get her to a doctor.

She curled up into an upright fetal position as she sat down slowly in the dingy booth, her eyes seemed assaulted by the harsh lighting, brows furrowed, mouth drawn out into a thin frown, her head jerked slightly as if she were trying to sleep and someone had tried to get her attention. Sam turned to view his brothers reaction to her, Dean simply looked at her sadly, his heart breaking and loudly screaming out for the girl. A look that startled Sam a little bit, emotion was a rarity for Dean to show. Mostly only putting his feelings on display when _he_ was in danger or hurt, but never before for someone they had just met, so instead of questioning either for their actions inside the restaurant, he plopped himself down next to the mysterious girl, became just as startled when she gently leaned on his toned arm. An old and tired looking waitress sauntered over to their table, obnoxiously chewing a wad of gum like a cow, she was obviously not happy to be there.

"What can I get you kids?" She asked tiredly as she slapped the menus down in front of the young travelers, causing each to jump ever so slightly.

"Uh," Dean quickly eyed both people sitting before him as he made his quick decision, "Three coffees, regular, lots of sugar." The waitress raised an eyebrow, jotting down the orders.

"Ma'am, you wouldn't happen to have a cigarette and a lighter, would you?" The girl croaked out suddenly, the waitress looked up harshly, but her agitated expression softened when she saw how stressed and tired the young girl appeared.

"Georgia law says there's no smoking allowed inside, but we're out here in the middle of the boondocks… law means little to us," as she handed the girl two cigarettes and a lighter, quietly she took note of the large gash on the girls forehead, she smiled with a motherly warmth at them. Not believing for a second that the young men she was with were the ones responsible for her head wound, they seemed too concerned to have possibly hurt her, "… Rough night?"

She laughed, took the cigarettes and lighter with a thankful smile and without missing a beat fed the woman an exquisite lie, "Oh, I'd been hiking since this morning, got lost and took a bit of a tumble… good thing I had my boyfriend and his brother with me… don't know how I would have made it alive without them." She said as she gave Sam a 'Just go with it' squeeze of the hand. Taking the hint, Sam gently wrapped his arm around her and pulled her a little bit closer to himself with a look on his face that screamed he was having a painful reverie. This time, when the older woman smiled, the younger noticed the missing teeth, and she nearly grimaced at the sight.

"Well, we've got heroes in the building! Consider your meals on the house, those woods are pretty dangerous, anyone who can make it through all that looking as untouched as the lot of you must be heroes. My name is Elsa, and I am honored to be your waitress tonight, I'll be right back with an ashtray for ya, sweetheart." She said as she waddled off back behind the counter.

"Well, you just got us a free meal… I like you already." Dean said, finishing with one of his flirty, cocky smiles. "Now, if you don't mind, explain to us just what in the hell you were really doing out there?"

She froze a bit, remembering the inevitability of her having to tell them the truth; she found a sudden interest in the design of the light blue lighter in her hands, feeling the intensity of the men's eyes boring wholes into her.

"I… I'm…" She began, finally pulling her vision away from the fuel filled object. If he hadn't been sitting down, Dean would have been thrown backwards by the lost bloodshot look in her eyes, "I'm a huntress… paranormal huntress. I was on a hunt while in town visiting an old friend, she said she had never been on one and was very interested in becoming an investigator like myself… practically begged me to bring her along, let her see some of the things that I do for a living. It's not an easy job, no luxuries, no rewards, it's a lonely life. My entire family had been taken by supernatural means over the course of…" She became quiet, and her eyes jumped back to looking jovial when the waitress returned with their coffee and an ashtray, she nodded a quick thank you as she took the glass dish and lit a cigarette.

"You youngn's hungry for anything in particular?" She said through missing and crooked teeth.

"Just a plate of hash browns with onions; even after a long day of hiking I'm not that hungry." She said with lightning speed as she gingerly handed the old woman her menu.

"Grits with that, darlin?" She asked as she wrote down the order and took the menu from the girl.

"No thank you, I'm allergic to corn." The waitress looked at the girl with a returning sadness from earlier.

"And for the heroes of the hour?"

"Ah… I think we're fine for now." Sam said as he returned both his and Dean's menu to the woman.

"Alright, be right back with your browns." And with a swift pivot, the old woman was gone again.

"What was I saying…" the girl asked as she flicked the cigarette loudly, "Oh yes, my family… I come from a very long line of hunters, when I was very young, still a baby, my parents were killed on a hunt to solve the mystery of the Bunny Man Bridge in Virginia. I was raised and trained by my aunt and step-uncle. It was just the four of us for so many years; them, myself, and my older brother Trevor… Tre— anyway, we were always on the move, never stayed in one place for longer than three weeks. So friends came and went, never knowing the real me, I was like a ghost drifting from place to place. Until one day we came here… and I met Kim, she didn't know who I really was, she didn't really care, she was just happy to meet someone from the outside world, happy to know someone who was cultured and open minded. One day… my uncle was killed in a hunt, and… I didn't know what to do, or how to react to it… so I told Kim, I told her everything. I thought she would freak out and never want to see my face again, but she didn't, she accepted me regardless of who I was, she promised to always be there for me whenever I felt like I was losing my ground or whatever hold I might have on who I really was…"

She stopped speaking when she saw Elsa coming close to the table, swiftly changing the subject back to her quick fabrication.

"I've no idea how long I was out. I mean, one minute my ankle twisted the wrong way, and the next you were carrying me to the car. I don't even remember what point in the day I was at when I went down… oh, thank you very much, Elsa." She said with an enchanting smile.

"No problem sugar… here, I found this extra pack in my purse, you look like you need it more than me." She whispered as she pushed a pack of Parliament Lights towards the girl, "Keep the lighter, blue's your color."

"Thank you, ma'am!" She squealed gleefully as the old woman staggered off once again. As soon as she was out of earshot, she returned to her sad story. "The night my uncle died, after I told Kim about my family, I made a promise to my aunt. I told her, 'One day, Masie, one day I'm going to come back here and stop that thing. I'm going to take them all down, so we can stop running and we can be a normal family, we won't ever have to look over our shoulders ever again.' And she just looked at me, shook her head and laughed, 'Oh honey, don't you worry your precious little head off, we were running long before you were born, and more than likely… you'll still be running long after I'm gone. Its part of being in this family, there's no such thing as safe or normal for us.'"

She had no idea how much Sam could relate with her, and he could see that Dean had no problem relating with her aunt, both young men seemed highly entertained with her impression of her extremely southern aunt. "Your aunt was a southern girl?"

"Oh hell yea, my mother's family is actually from a place not far from here… Bartow, it's an extremely small town outside of Louisville…"

"And Louisville would be…?" Dean interrupted.

"It's a small town outside of Augusta. Anyway, I hated her for telling me that, more than anything I wanted her to tell me it was all right, that the running would stop one day and that my brother and I would be able to live normal lives. But ever since we were very small, we were warriors, hunters, liars, trained thieves, 'investigators', I never felt like an honest investigator; never felt like what we were doing was _our_ duty, I never understood why it was up to us to stop these things that people were being faced with and refused to take care of themselves. We were gone the next day, didn't leave a trace that we had ever existed… except for my uncle's grave. The only real proof that anyone in my family ever existed is our graves… liars to the end." She paused for a moment, thinking, putting down the cigarette butt that had put itself out. Pushing the half eaten plate of hash browns away from her, and then reaching to light another cigarette after taking a last swig of her coffee. Slowly she forced herself to continue, obviously from this point on her story was to become even more grim and lonely.

"What happened to your brother and aunt?" Sam asked carefully, regretting his words when he spied her entire body shake at the mention of her brother, she sighed as she began again.

"Well, a few years after we left Sandersville, we wound up in Shelbyville, Indiana. I had told Masie that there was something very off about this one… something wasn't right. She thought I was just trying to get out of a hunt, she knew I was still mad at her from the night my uncle died. So she didn't listen, she wasn't careful, went in carelessly… the demon we had been hunting possessed her… and led her to her death after it tried to take Trevor and I with her. We were stronger, I had my intuition, and Trevor never doubted me, never in his life had he ever doubted me. So she was taken… I was barely 16; it had been less than six years since Uncle Nate…" Her eyes glazed over, and for as much as both boys wanted to know who she was and what had happened, they knew she was getting to it, in the mean time, she had to retell her entire story for any of it to make sense to these two seemingly 'normal' young men, and they had no desire to interrupt.

"Trevor was 20, and much stronger than me, much better at hiding how he felt and doing what had to be done. I would say he helped me through grieving for losing whatever bit of family we had left, but my contempt that had been festering within me for all those years kept me from feeling the full force of her death, so we kept on going. Town after town, case after case, keeping our professional façade about ourselves in front of our clients. We kept it up for seven years, until this past November; it had been a cold and rainy day in Buffalo… I had actually convinced him to take a vacation from it all, we had been renting out an apartment, we didn't go back to our father's family mansion in Chicago, and we attained real jobs, we weren't living off dad's fortune that he had left us, that was for hunting… when times were desperate maybe." She stopped, stifling a sob, trying to make the tears building in her eyes look as if they were from getting smoke in them. The ashtray was getting more and more filled with cigarette butts. One single sob escaped, and she threw her head down in furry for letting it get passed her lips, Sam could barely take seeing her in such pain.

"Hey," he said delicately, "its ok, it's alright; you don't have to tell us…"

"No," she said, shaking her head slowly, she quickly collected herself. Dean was shaken by her determination to keep her cool and return to looking emotionless, "I have to, it's been _so_ long since I've been able to tell anyone my story. Sometimes you've just got to let it out, let everything out…"

By this time, the boys had completely forgotten about their coffee, and as Dean went to take a sip he nearly spat the now cold drink on both the girl and his younger brother.

"Ugh, it's gone cold!" he cried, this seemed to help the girl calm her nerves and she laughed lightheartedly. Elsa jumped into action and brought over a carafe filled with fresh, hot coffee.

"Terribly sorry about that, sweetness, I should have been around twice to refill those by now! You done with your browns, angel?" the girl smiled warmly at Elsa and handed her the plate, which she took graciously and scampered off once more. As the boys returned their attention to their new friend and their coffee, Sam gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as if to say, 'you can continue when you're ready to'.

"So, I had gotten a respectable job as a waitress in the most posh place in town, I had been making good money and everything. I came home very late one night after a long day at work, couldn't find Trevor anywhere, so I figured he was still at his job. I was so tired… I just crawled into bed; I was on the verge of sleep when…" Sam suddenly got a terrible feeling in his stomach concerning what might have happened to her brother.

"When in November was this?" He asked desperately.

"What?"

"What day?" he said again, a bit more demanding this time. Dean was ready to kick his brother in the shin, but he froze when she answered.

"November the 2nd… why?" A cold sweat broke upon Sam's forehead as she spoke, and Dean's eyes went wide with fear as he realized what all the fuss was about.

"Can I take a wild, off the wall guess at what happened next?" Sam asked kindly, forgetting her cigarette, she folded her hands, hissing as she burnt her palm on the embers. Dean silently took her hand and blew on the burn before he lightly massaged it while his brother began to speak.

"You were laying down, almost asleep when you felt drops of some kind of liquid fall on your forehead… when you opened your eyes you saw your brother on the ceiling, bleeding to death and looking straight at you," Dean began to feel her hands shaking, he knew that what his brother was describing was true, the thing that had killed their mother and Jessica had also taken someone very dear to the young woman, "and before you know it, flames erupt from him, and everything burns."

"How did you… How could you possibly… there's something you're not telling me, and before I even get close to telling you my name… I want to know who the hell you people are, and how the hell you knew about what happened to my brother!" She growled under her breath, no matter how angry and scared she was, the last thing she wanted to do was blow their cover.

"November 2, 1983: the same thing that took Trevor took our mother, Sam here was a baby, I was barely four…" Dean said quietly, unwillingly bringing himself back to that terrible night.

"November 2, 2005: same bastard paid me a visit, and killed my girlfriend. We've got more in common than you know, you see, we also come from a line of hunters, we've been doing it since I could hold a gun steadily." Sam said, now intently focused on his coffee, feeling the wide, fright filled eyes of the young girl on him.

"The Winchester Hunter's… it all makes sense, no wonder you haven't started calling me crazy or weird or anything like that. This may or may not seem strange… but I've sorta been expecting you." Dean threw his brother a confused look, but Sam looked completely unphased by her words.

"How long have you been expecting us… since your brother's murder?" She winced at his last word, nodding while closely examining her cigarette. "What did you do after he died?"

"Picked back up where we left off, went back to hunting, and somehow found myself back here of all places. I was glad to, gave me a chance to reconnect with Kim; she was still here and still desperately looking for a way out. She begged me to recruit her, so I trained her with some of the basic stuff, she had such potential, and she was _so_ eager. Then, I came across my latest hunt, the one that just went terribly, terribly wrong." She was now staring sternly at the pile of used cigarettes, her jaw clenched as she revisited the memories of what had happened.

"What exactly _were_ you hunting?" Sam asked.

"Something that should not have been hunted by a novice like Kim, that's for damned sure!" She cried, forgetting where she was for a second, after she realized this her angry expression died away into an apologetic one, her eyes held a tinge of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry… I'd heard stories of an old abandoned mansion plagued with poltergeists… even a baalberith. So I decided I'd check it out, Kim wanted to tag along, she wanted to see for herself a large manifestation of spirits piled in with a fallen angel. I should never have let her…" She tugged nervously at the jacket she was wearing, the same forlorn look she had earlier returned to her features, and Sam couldn't help but connect the dots.

"Is that who…" She nodded slowly as tears of guilt rushed furiously down her face, "Refresh my memory… what exactly does a Baalberith do?" She let out a sob as her mind zipped about pulling definitions from the recesses of her memory.

"A Baalberith, the ex-prince of the order of Cherubim, a fallen angel; tempts people to commit homicide, symptoms of his hold: quarrelsome, contentious, and random acts of blasphemy. If asked, he tells the truth of things past, present, and future. Very dangerous, very deadly… the poltergeists, as we found out, are the leaders of his 26 demonic legions. We were only supposed to be there for a quick reading to see just how haunted the place was, then get the hell out, but he…" she croaked out before attempting to stifle another sob, "he took hold of her. He turned the only thing I had left, my only friend in the world, and he turned her against me! His minions, cornered me, and she… she…"

Sam gathered the broken girl in his arms and held her gently to himself, one hand rubbing up and down her left arm as she just let go of control over herself. Her emotions, pain, exhaustion spilled from her delicate form, all she had the energy she had left she spent on her own wicked and guilty tears. Her shattered heart leaping out of her chest and breaking both Sam and Dean's until they matched hers. She didn't even need to finish, they knew, the spirits forced her friend to try and kill her, if her friend was still alive at all, she was under complete control of the Balberith, the chances of saving her were small if existent at all.

"Was it your friend that you were running from, or were the demons following you?" Dean didn't want to make her talk about it anymore, but he decided that this was their next task, they were going to destroy these evil spirits, and he needed to know everything in order to do much of anything. He could plainly see that just thinking about it was eating her alive.

"I don't even know how I was able to get away, all I know is that I got out of that corner and ran like the very fires of hell were licking at my heels. If I tripped, which I know I did a few times, I dragged myself to my feet and ran faster, couldn't even see where I was going because of my damn flashlight, all that was important was getting as far from that place as I could." Sputtered the terrified girl, as she tried desperately to calm herself and avoid a big nasty scene.

"Listen, we're going to help you get your friend back, but there's one last thing that you have got to tell us. It's very important," Dean said as he took her hand once more, shock and disbelief replaced her seemingly uncontrollable depression, "what is your name?"

The young huntress breathed heavily, much like she had when they first found her, slowly she regained her composure. She closed her eyes as she took one last deep breath, when she opened them, she was emotionless and cold, spitting out her name as if it were a curse to keep it to herself:

"Sophia, Sophia Verastegui… but I go by Phia."

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**Hope you guys enjoyed it! B/c I enjoyed writting it, so send me some more of those awesome reviews! Later people!**


	3. What Demons May Come

**Disclaimer: I own whatever the WB doesn't own... maybe one or two other things, but for the most part, whatever the WB doesn't own is mine.**

**Sorry it's taken this long to put up the next chapter, hope you enjoy it! And please remember to review!**

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Not long after Sophia revealed her name to the boys, she felt insanely tired; something the young Winchester brothers did not overlook. They said their thank yous and goodbyes to their waitress and climbed back into the black Impala, and proceeded to retreat to a seedy motel a few miles away from the cursed building that had brought the girl into their lives.

By the time they reached the old motel Sophia was fast asleep, having been eerily quiet since they left the diner. Sam scooped the girl up in his arms as he carried her to room 3 of the ancient establishment, there was something about her that made her even more delicate than she seemed when they rescued her from the demons chasing the girl away from her one true friend. There was something about her that made him feel like he was carrying a large porcelain doll… one wrong move and she would shatter into a million pieces. Gingerly he laid her down on the stiff mattress, he was about to go claim the other bed before his brother could when he felt a small, thin hand tug at his wrist.

"Trev… don't leave me, please, Trevor, don't leave me all alone." Sophia said, eyes tightly shut, almost to the point of reopening the gash on her forehead. Though she was still deep asleep, her subconscious was crying out for physical company, she was calling out for her lost brother, but Sam knew that the only real candidate would be himself.

Slowly he lowered himself onto the bed in a hopeful attempt to not disturb the slumbering huntress. Due to the small size of the bed, they lay there quietly barely two inches apart. Sophia's facial expression went from alone and frightened to serenely at peace as soon as Sam's head hit the pillow. He felt better knowing that he could give her any kind of small comfort in just being there, and was moments away from drifting off into his usual uneasy sleep when his brother started talking.

"Psst, Sammy… Sammy boy, you still up!" His brother hissed at him from the bathroom entrance, tugging his leather jacket back over his shoulders. Sam shot his brother an irritated glare.

"Yea, and by no fault of my own," the younger Winchester replied sharply, "And for the last time… it's Sam, _not_ Sammy!" Dean simply flashed one of his cocky, 'I win, bitch' grins before he continued.

"Alright, Sammy, I'll be back later. Keep an eye on her, make sure she sleeps for a while longer, see if you can't get anymore information out of her… and get some rest yourself, you look like crap, little brother!" Dean stated as he headed for the door, Sam began to sit up a little, but not too much that he would wake their sleeping friend.

"Wait, jerk! Where the hell are you going?" He demanded as softly as he could. Dean nearly had his hand on the door knob when he made a sudden pivot to look back at his baby brother.

"Just checking out the area, go talk to locals, find some semi-decent burger joints… ya know, our _job_. You stay here and rest, you seriously look like shit, besides, if something tries to attack her… she won't be able to hold her own. I need you to protect her while I scope this hell hole out, got it, Sam?" For as much as his argument made sense, there was something seriously amiss about it, something Dean wasn't telling him. He just hoped his older brother wasn't going to check out the mansion by himself. For all they knew, that could be straight up suicide… but the one thing that confirmed it all: he had simply called him Sam.

"Ok," he said with feigned defeat, "… Dean?" Dean stopped mid-turn, head down, but as soon as he heard his name escape his brother's lips he tilted his head upwards toward the two younger hunters.

"Yea?"

"Be careful if you're going where I think you might be planning to go to…" Sam's eyes went downcast to the sleeping form next to him before he continued, "Risking one life to those things is one too many, we wouldn't be much help to her if one of us ends up being the next victim. I've got a really bad feeling about this hunt," his head shot back up to look at Dean, his voice hid his emotions excellently, but his eyes betrayed him, "we have to be extra careful."

Dean was taken aback by his baby brother's forewarning, he had his usual annoying little 'bad feelings', but this time… this time it was quite different. Sam meant business, and was doing his damnedest to make his big brother fully aware of the danger of this particular case. However, no matter how well Sam could hide his fear, Dean would always be there to do it twice as well.

"Relax, Sammy, I know what I'm doing… I've been at this longer than you have, I got it all covered. Now…. _Sleep_!" He growled jokingly at his younger sibling, and before Sam could argue any further, his brother was out the door.

"Ass." Sam murmured as he placed his head back down on the beckoning pillow, he began to concentrate on Sophia's breathing, which for the most part had gone back to sounding normal, there was still a bit of a labored weez at the end of every inhale and exhale, but it didn't sound anywhere as bad as it did.

Letting his mind wander from her breathing pattern to her delicate facial features and doll like curly hair, before he knew it he was out cold, but even that wouldn't last for very long…

**8 HOURS LATER…**

Sophia shot upright on the rigid bed screaming, tears streaming down her olive colored face, her deep auburn/dark brown mass of loose curls rushed past her face. Sam had awoken seconds after she began screaming.

"Trevor!" She shouted, his name broken by sobs, Sam pulled her close to him, cradling her like an infant, but the next thing that slipped from her mouth was the last thing he had expected, "Dean! NO! No don't!"

Sam froze instantly at the mention of his brother's name, he would have demanded why she was crying out to _his_ brother, who she was screaming 'NO! No don't!' to. But going on how violently her body was shaking from her fit of hysterics he decided to put his curiosity on hold for later. Right now he needed to concentrate on calming her down before someone somewhere in the motel decided to call the cops because it sounded like someone was being murdered.

"Shh, Sophia, Shhh, you're alright, you're ok. Nobody's hurt, and nobody is going to hurt you, calm down, it's ok," Cooed Sam as he gently rubbed her back, remembering all the rips and lacerations that she had all over, when he first saw them he thought she had been whipped or something.

And now here she was, crying and screaming like she had been beaten, she was gripping onto Sam's shirt for dear life, he could feel her nails scraping the middle of his back and his left pec. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it would definitely be enough to put a hole or two in his white undershirt, though when he looked down he saw that the moist spot where she was crying into his chest wasn't just from her tears, the gash on her forehead had reopened a bit and fresh blood was flowing slowly onto him.

"Hey, hey," he whispered soothingly, brushing the hair out of her face and his hands gently cupping her face, "You're alright… it was just a dream. You're with me, and I won't let anybody hurt you." This seemed to staunch a majority of her frenzied panic, but the overwhelming fear still had yet to leave her eyes.

"But who's going to protect you? I'm… I'm not strong enough to protect myself right now…" The fright filled confusion was quickly replaced with a disoriented, dizzied one and her head began to sway a little bit back towards the pillows.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there... don't worry about me, I'll be just fine. C'mon, that gash reopened, we need to clean that up and stop the bleeding." He said as he led her towards the bathroom, and with wobbly, unsteady feet she followed close by.

Because the lovely gash had to be an impossible cunt of a wound, it took them over an hour and a half to finally get the bleeding to stop. In the meantime, while she patiently sat on the toilet seat and he on the edge of the bathtub, the two young hunters began to talk about anything and everything that came to mind. What they're dreams were if it weren't for their paranormal duties, stories of past hunts, likes and dislikes, favorite moments of their brush's with normalcy… then, the topic that was looming in Sam's mind the entire time…

"So what was the nightmare about? And why get so shaken up over it?" He asked as he tossed yet another bloody wad of a tissue in the waste basket. She bit her lip, and he was instantly aware of her silent stalling. "Sophia?"

"They're not nightmares… I don't get regular run of the mill nightmares, never have, I knew a week before it happened that my parents would die. No, they're not nightmares, not visions either, Trevor always described them as the 'Oh shit, better not go into this one carelessly' dreams." She said, attempting to disguise a stifled sob for a nervous laugh.

"Like premonitions?"

"Exactly that, but these days they happen so frequently over so many things, they get jumbled and just plain confusing," Sam let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding back, it could have been just a jumbled dream with snippets of him and his brother destroying the evil that had attacked her, but something told him that she wasn't done explaining herself, "until just now. I haven't had one come in that clearly in years, it was… startling to say the least."

"But you said your brother's name… then Dean's, and then you begged for someone to not do something… what was it?" Sophia found his determination slightly comforting, in an odd way, was his determination and will this strong with all that he believed in? Casting her eyes downward, she carefully chose her words; it would be a delicate subject for him.

"Ever since Trevor died, he's been my Spirit Guide…" She began slowly.

"Spirit Guide… I thought only mediums had Spirit Guides?"

"We do… What, never seen a Medium who takes care of their own dirty work before?" She said with a slight grin.

"No not really, but then again, aside from you, now, Dean and I only know one medium… the family medium. Um, so your brother is your Spirit Guide, and you can talk to other spirits through him?" He asked curiously, perhaps he could talk with his mom. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, so many things he wanted to tell her… so many.

"Not really, I can speak directly to other spirits, and if I were to let them, I can allow spirits to talk through me… and I know exactly who it is you want to talk to most… Mary. She was Trevor's Spirit Guide, and now… they share me. She loves her sons dearly, and she's very proud, especially of the one that went to Stanford." She said with a quick grin, it left her when she felt a sharp pain above her left eye. "She's with us now if you'd like to talk to her."

"I… yea, yes, definitely." He surprised himself with how his answer sputtered out of his mouth.

"Ok… Mary, are you ready?" she called out to no specific area of the bathroom, "… ok, she's ready, are you ready, Sam? I'm going to let her talk through me, you don't mind, do you?"

"No, of course, go right ahead. I'm ready, I—I just don't really know what to ask her." He said as if he were being snapped out of a strange and distant reverie.

"Don't worry, my little darling; it'll come to you. My, my, look at you, all grown up and handsome like your father; you and Dean both, so very handsome, my sweet little boys." Mary said as she sat next to her youngest son on the edge of the tub, finally, after 20 some years she was able to touch her sweet baby boy. She had watched her sons grow up, but never could kiss their skinned knees or take them to their first day of school. How much she wanted to be there for them, but now, thanks to this delightful young woman she was here, sitting next to her baby, and he could see and hear her, the poor child had been through so much in her time, especially recently. She could feel her energy quickly draining, she didn't have much time with little Sammy.

"Mom… there's so much to say, so much I have been wanting to talk with you about…" He said, still a bit confused about the situation he had found himself from picking up a girl on the side of the road. Sophia's thin pointer finger pressed gently against his mouth, his mother's eyes shone sadly through Sophia's face.

"Sam sweetheart, I don't have much time right now, Sophia wasn't even strong enough to let me talk through her right now. She's growing very weak, I have to go now, but take good care of this girl, and we can talk more soon. Where's Dean?" Her voice broke a bit, and slowly began to sound slightly more like Sophia's again.

"He went to check out the haunted mansion Sophia ran away from last night." He said as he realized the amount of danger his big brother was putting himself in. His mother's eyes went from curious to terrified.

"Sam, if when he comes back and seems ever so slightly different… in any way, be _very_ careful, and protect Sophia as you would protect Dean. So long as she is with you, I will also be with you. I love you, my darling baby boy, I am so very proud of you!" Mary said, Sophia had returned completely as Mary began to say 'proud'. The girl looked dizzy as she finished her Spirit Guides sentence, Sophia's dark brown eyes rolled back as she began to fall backwards.

"Phia, Phia, wake up, come on, I know you're tired, but don't pass out now. It's not a safe thing to do right now."

"Wha? How did it go with Mary, what did she say?" She asked weakly, the color returning to her flushed face, the gash had started to bleed a bit more. "Shit, how hard did I hit my head and on what?"

"It went well, the last time I heard her voice I was a baby, and I almost didn't recognize it. Thank you, Sophia, you have no idea how much I…" She pressed a finger against his lips again.

"I know, the first time she came to Trevor and I… she brought our parents with her, I was the same age when I lost both of them. I didn't recognize their voices at all, but it was a nice relief, ya know. I still talk to them every once and again… so I can't ever forget them. I felt fear in her before she left me… what happened?" Not really knowing what to say, he began to look away from his fellow hunter. In retaliation to regain eye contact, she lightly placed her left hand on his cheek, and gently nudged his head back into her general direction. Whilst leaning into her palm, he gathered his thoughts and laced them together before opening his mouth.

"She asked where Dean was, he told me he was checking out the town, but I had a feeling that he really had plans of going elsewhere, and when she asked… I told her that he went to the abandoned mansion to check out what exactly we'll be dealing with." Her hand dropped to her side, her eyes glazed over and breathing suddenly became very difficult.

"And how did she react to that?" she asked, barely audible, gasping for breath between each word.

"She said that if he acted any different from the Dean I know when he gets back… we will have to be extremely careful, and she wants me to protect you just like I would protect Dean if he were in your position, and… so long as you're near us… mom will be, too." Sophia let out a small laugh, hoping that Sam hadn't noticed the tears running down her cheeks again. "What's wrong, why are you crying?"

"Because," she said as she slapped her hands on her knees in frustration, "that means it's starting, it's all starting and pretty soon there'll be nothing we can do to stop _any_ of this!"

"Yea… you never did tell me what happened that got you so scared. What did you see?" He asked, curiosity finding its way back to the youngest Winchester.

"We all fail… miserably, and we all fall at the hands of these minions and their leader." She threw her head back, gasping once more for air; light glinted off a single tear streak on the right side of her face. Sam knew he should be filled with despair, but instead he found that he was captivated by the beauty before him. "But that's not the worst part…"

"It has something to do with Dean, doesn't it? Who does it to him?" He asked with a blank face.

"No, I wasn't pleading for him… I was begging him to not…" the words got caught in her throat and felt like they were choking her. Seeing her hesitation, Sam took one of her hands within his own, and gave it a reassuring squeeze, encouraging but not pushing her to continue. "I was begging him not to kill you." She paused, her index finger tracing his hands so lightly it almost tickled him. "Sam… I won't let him hurt you, I'm not sure how, but I won't let him."

The silence that filled the room after she spoke was deafening, and Sam's head began to swim as the sickening feeling punched him in the gut, the only sounds getting through to his ears was the harsh ragged breathing of the girl next to him. He wrapped his arms around her, her head seemed to roll towards him, and then he felt it as chills ran up and down his spine. She had gone ice cold in his embrace, eyes barely open, desperately searching for air. His right hand stroked her face lovingly, while he gently shook her with his other arm. With brows furrowed, and head shaking slightly, she began to murmur something, unable to understand what was being said, Sam shook her a little bit more.

"C'mon Soph, wake up, c'mon I know you're weak right now, but you've got to wake up!" He softly demanded of her, only letting up when her head shook fervently, the mumbling grew louder and more distinct. Sam didn't know which to be more worried about, her being on the verge of passing out or the words that she kept repeating. They became a little louder as she repeated it over and over again…

"Kill… _Kill_… **_Kill_**…" Her body stiffened, her eyes flew open wide, and her head shot up as Sophia… no, not Sophia, it wasn't her voice, it was twisted and hoarse. The cringe-worthy voice screamed at him, "**_KILL_**! Hahaha, they are ready for it, they will carry out their orders, and you will all be **destroyed**! Then nothing will stand in Master's way, and nothing, nor will anyone be able to stop him!" The demon babbled inanely, using Sophia's weakened body as vessel with which to deliver his message to the young man. "We're already starting to take her, just like we took her friend, and very soon… we'll take your brother, prepare to say goodbye to the mortal world, young Winchester!" it said with a bit more spite and defiance than it had used moments earlier.

Her head slowly rolled foreword and turned towards him with an eerily slow speed. He choked back from crying out and putting his emotions for the girl on display, knowing fully well that it would only put her in even more danger. But something about seeing her large brown doe eyes going from alluring, sincere, and sweet to completely blood red, and glowing, they had become the eyes of pure evil. Those eyes, the ones that made him feel an array of emotions that he hadn't felt since Jessica… he was fairly certain that he had fallen in love with those large chocolate colored orbs the second he saw them frozen with fear like an animal caught in headlights, oddly enough she had been caught in the blinding headlights of the Impala. Even now, as he stared evil in the eyes, he wanted so much to show the genuine smile that he had kept buried within himself for over a year now.

He quickly shook his head, thrusting himself back into the here and now, he _had_ to help her. They had promised to rescue her friend; he had no idea that he would have to rescue her as well. One question remained as his racing mind came to a screeching halt: How? How was he supposed to save her without inflicting more wounds on her thin body that had already been raw and torn to hell? As one question strayed, the answer seemed to have lagged behind seconds slower. He would talk to her, draw her out; she had to be in there somewhere… right?

"Sophia? Sophia, it's Sam; I know you're still in there… somewhere. I know that you _can_ hear me, come back, come back to me. Don't let this demon beat you, come forward and cast out this evil entity, Sophia? Sophia, come back! I need you t… Sophia, come back to me," He knew he was babbling, beating around the bush. He had just met the girl less than a **DAY** ago, spilling his guts would be a difficult thing do to, but it might also be the only way to save her from the belly of the beast.

Those damned red eyes, how they narrowed and glared, shooting their deadly invisible daggers at him. He could see that his bashfulness was losing him the battle, the creature using her began taking control of her from the arms up. Her balled fists began to fly about; trying to connect somehow with his face, her own was twisted and snarling at him. Pinning her arms to her side he tightened his grip on the creature's victim, it kept on snarling, but he was certain that he heard a weak gasp for air. Somewhere inside the tormented form, Sophia was trapped and in pain, Sam's determination to save her doubled. He knew what had to be done.

"Mom, I hope you can here me right now, and if you can, awesome…because I'm going to need your help pretty damn soon. She'll be very weak, but you've got to help her…" cried Sam as he looked wildly about himself, taking a deep breath, he let go of Sophia as she toppled gracelessly into the far end of the bathtub, "**_Demon!_ You cannot have her, the love of a mother and the love of another demand that you leave her**… and take me instead." He finished in a whisper, but, with a sickening grin twisting Sophia's face, the demon was more than happy to oblige. It erupted from her chest, causing her back to arch and nearly flinging her forward and completely out of the tub. As it left she took one seemingly endless gasp for air and fell back into the tub unconscious, and as the demon rocketed itself at Sam, the impact slammed him into the wall and knocked the wind right out of him.

On the astral plane, Mary watched helplessly as her youngest son surrendered himself to save the life of a near stranger. A stranger who would be murdered where she lay if Mary didn't do something quick, she watched in terror as her usually sweet child became unbelievably livid, appearing as if he were going to take the helpless young woman by the throat and throttle her before even giving her a chance to become aware of the situation. Before he could reach the unsuspecting, sleeping form, Mary threw herself upon the girl and before the demon knew what happened; Sophia/Mary shot up from where she had fallen. Grabbed Sam by his wrists, and threw him back, pinning him to the wall with a loud thump. With a look of determined, passionate rage on the bruised and bloodied feminine face, Mary's earth shaking words boomed from Sophia's lips.

"_You_ will leave these two ALONE!" Bellowed the late Mrs. Winchester, "and don't even **THINK** about going after my other boy!" she cried, watching with a steady glare as the blood red of the demon's eyes melted back into her son's beautiful brown eyes. As he became aware of what was going on, Mary picked up on Sophia emitting a burning emotion, which one she couldn't quite tell, but she knew it had to do with Sam. "I'll leave you two alone… get ready to catch her."

With that Mary's spirit left Sophia for the last time that evening, and as soon as she did Sophia's eyes rolled back and dropped like a bag of hammers; landing softly in Sam's caring embrace. She lay there for a few minutes before her eyes fluttered open and beamed up to her rescuer a weak smile, tenderly she caressed his cheek. Slowly her breathing settled and she felt like she could speak without suffocating.

"So… one down, 25 to go… and the fallen angel, of course." She breathed quietly, evoking a chuckle from Sam. Slowly but surely the space between the two shrank further and further into nothing, resulting in the liberation of long neglected sensations from deep within both participants. When they're lips parted and both slowly opened their eyes, Sophia felt her heartbreak as she read the look in his eyes, "Sam… I…" then another thought flashed through her mind, she began to wonder where Dean had gone to. Surely it didn't take this long to check out such a small town and take a look at the condemned mansion that had brought them together… unless something had gone awry.

"He has been gone for a bit too long…" He pondered the idea of going to find his brother, he'd have to go on foot and if he took Sophia with him, he wouldn't be able to get very far. Shaking the idea from his thoughts he looked back to the girl before him, seeing that she had made up her mind before he had.

"Go, I'll be alright. Mary will watch over me and Trevor will aid you and Dean, should either of you need him." She said as she struggled to lift herself up on her elbows. Her mind was set; there was no changing it now.

"Alight, I'll be right back, don't leave the room, don't let anybody in… try to go back to sleep if you can." She nodded as Sam scrambled to his feet and headed for the door. He stole one last glance at her, there was an odd feeling hanging in the air, he couldn't place it for the life of himself, but he had the strangest feeling that it wouldn't be as peaceful and still as it was right now ever again. In that last glance, she stood near the entrance to the bathroom, her head rested against the doorjamb and arms crossed over her stomach, minus the cuts and bruises; she was the absolute picture of perfection.

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**Yay, chapter 3's done! Hope you liked it enough to review! 4 and 5 coming very soon! **


	4. And then there were two

**Disclaimer: Once again, I own a few things that the WB doesn't own.**

**Here's the 4th chapter, I've been meaning to update for the past few days... but work likes to distract me. Oh well, here ya go, enjoy and please review!

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**MEANWHILE, AFTER DEAN FINISHES CHECKING OUT THE SMALL TOWN…**

Dean felt all warmth leave him as he pulled up to the decaying building, it looked so desolate and hopeless. Just looking at it through the windshield made him want to run through the woods in the middle of the night and pass out upon bumping into the first strangers he came across. But he was a Winchester, and had to suck up his feelings of fear and doubt and push them aside; with a deep breath he removed the keys from the ignition and clambered out of his car. A chill ripped its way down his spine, nearly flooring him, this place made him more nervous than his childhood home had.

Suddenly, something in his right peripheral caught his eye. A car, but not just any car, this beauty almost brought him to his knees, forgetting the ominous house. Walking over to take a better look he felt his breath catch in his throat; a fully restored 1969 CAMARO SS 396 in a dazzling deep blue.

"What I wouldn't give for a car like this," he found himself saying as he continued to admire the vehicle, "must be Sophia's car. Which means…" grabbing the door handle, he was surprised to find it unlocked, he popped the trunk. As he peered in he found one large leather bag. "Ok, there are some clothes… probably, but she's got to have something else back here…"

He pushed the bag to the back of the trunk and lifted the flap at the front of the trunk space.

"Bingo… well, well, Ms. Huntress, all you're missing is some rope and Rambo's knife… otherwise, this is one _hell_ of a collection." He said astounded. Before locking the car and taking a better look at the building, he threw the old leather bag in the backseat of his prized Impala. Turning back to the mansion the same chill from earlier returned to him, with a frustrated huff, he stalked towards the building, fully armed in case some demon tries to pull anything sneaky on him, "Alright, let's get this over with."

The sun was just beginning to set as he approached the large mahogany doors that had been left wide open, his senses tingled, he knew whatever evil resided within was beginning to stir. 'Great, Dean, perfect time to take a look at a seriously haunted house… retard.' He thought to himself as he cautiously stepped into the foyer; gun in hand, ready for anything. His head jerked to the right when he caught movement in his peripheral, raising his gun, he felt his voice shiver as the words left his lips, "Hello? Anyone… anything in here?" he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the oversized rat scamper off to its hole in the wall. "Relax, Dean, it's just a FREAKING rat!"

"If I were Sophia… where would I go to?" He thought aloud, casting his eyes to the ground he found the dirtiest floor he had ever seen, footprints were easily traced. Following them a feeling of regret grew in the pit of his stomach, maybe he shouldn't have come here alone. But it was too late now, no turning back at this point, was there ever a time to turn back? His thoughts were interrupted by a soft giggle coming from a room down the long corridor, last one on the left. He suddenly remembered what he had told a girl that he and Sam had rescued from a haunted asylum, 'If someone tells you a place is haunted, don't go in.' Wonderful time to take your own advice into consideration, ya moron; He thought harshly.

"Hello? Anyone in here… Kim, are you in here?" he called evenly, his mind and senses screaming at him to get the hell outta dodge, his feet kept moving forward, almost as if they had a mind of their own. Keeping his arms out straight, hands steadily holding his gun, he moved down the hall, keeping up the appearance that he wasn't scared, wasn't freaked that he couldn't make himself turn around; and then he saw her, she stood by a large open window, lit up by the red, dying sun. "Kim, right?"

She turned to look at him, or look through him in all actuality, her eyes were unseeing, expression vacant, body language seemed tired and uncaring. Something about the girl's demeanor sent a pang of pity through the eldest Winchester son; he lowered his gun a bit as he walked towards her.

"Sophia, why'd you run from me? Where did you go? Why did you leave me here? I'm so scared, so cold…" she murmured sadly, Dean was a few feet away now, still inching over to her, she finally took notice of the strange man with the gun. "Do you know where my Sophia went? I'm so scared and lonely without her, I want to go home, but she's up and left me here…" Dean reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, as he did so her hands shot up grabbing either side of his head, her eyes having gone black as night, "You won't be so lucky!"

Dean tried to scream out in pain, as the feeling of tiny blades shot through him, the pain was white hot, and his vision blurred as he crumpled to the ground.

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Every inch of his body screamed as consciousness returned to him and Dean began to rush to his feet. He didn't remember what had happened past reaching out for the girl, after that it was one big painful blur. Whatever had happened, it was pitch black out and he knew his brother and Sophia had to be worried about him. 

"Forget about checking this place out on my own, it's freaking me out, I'm getting the hell out!" he whispered to himself as he sprinted down the stairs, the fear induced tears running down his face remained unnoticed for the moment. Revving the engine, he smiled to himself when he heard his baby roaring, just for him. He let the Metallica boom from the stereo as he sped down the lonesome road, the ear popping volume quickly calming his nerves. But his car came to a screeching halt when he saw a familiar figure walking on the side of the road, the figure ran over to him as soon as it took notice of his dramatic stop.

"Dean, where the hell have you been!" Sam growled at his older brother.

"Didn't I tell you to stay with Sophia?" he replied with an even lower growl, god knew what could be attacking her right now, and for some strange reason, Dean felt like kicking the crap out of his brother for leaving her for a split second. "Get your ass in the car, what the hell were you thinking leaving her alone?"

"She's fine, she's the one who demanded I went out to find your sorry ass… we were both worried about you, and I wasn't about to drag her along with me." Sam said as he threw open the passenger door and sat down. "Now let's hurry up and get back before she does get attacked again."

"Wait… again? What happened, if something happened what were you thinking letting her alone? I don't care if she told you to go after me or not, I gave you an_ order_, Sammy!" Dean screamed at the younger Winchester as his foot slammed on the gas pedal. The younger man looked at him bewildered, Dean had never yelled at him with such intensity before. It was then that he took notice of the dirt outlined tear streaks on his brother's face.

"A demon tried to possess her after she let mom talk through her, I had to let it take me to save her… mom ended up saving us both. What the hell happened to you?" he said as his nose was attacked by the scent of old decaying and cobweb filled house filled his lungs, instantly causing him to cringe.

"Wait, how did mom get into this?"

"Sophia's a medium, on top of everything. Her brother and our mom are her Spirit Guides, so she has instant access to both of them." Sam said, baffled by his brother's reaction… was he crying? "Dean, what did you find?"

"Old decrepit, piece of shit house… rats, her car… I vaguely remember running into Kim. Next thing I knew I was bolting out the door after waking up on the ground." Sam could easily tell he was trying, vainly, to sound emotionless and calm. As they pulled into the motel parking lot, a feeling of unexplainable panic resounded throughout Sam's chest.

"Why is the door open?" Dean shook his head in response as they jumped out of the car in perfect sync. Upon entering the tiny room they found nothing out of the ordinary, it looked the same way it had when Sam left it, the only difference was that the bathroom door was shut and locked, Sam began to settle down as his brother closed the door to their room, that is, until he reached the door and heard the splash beneath his foot.

Looking down he discovered a growing puddle coming from under the door, and the sound of running water coming from within. He began to bang helplessly on the door.

"Sophia! Soph, open the door, Phia! C'mon, talk to me!" they both stood close to the door listening for any sound from the girl… nothing, motioning for his brother to stand back, Dean took three quick steps away from the door, raised his leg and promptly kicked the door inward. Sam immediately rushed into find the tub over flowing with water, inside he saw Sophia lying in the tub, one leg over the side, a wet towel covering a majority of her body, and a cloud of long dark hair floating over her head. In a frenzied panic he reached in the murky red tinted water, wrapped one arm around the girl's torso and ripped her from what could have been her watery grave. As they both tumbled unto the ground she began sputtering and flailed about wildly.

"What the hell… and who the f—" She began to screech, as she scrambled away from Sam and franticly covered herself with the sopping wet towel, as her eyes shot upward to see who in the hell disturbed her, her eyes found Sam turning bright red and looking at his feet intensely, and Dean covering his eyes and pivoting away as quickly as she had ever seen a human move before.

"What the hell were you doing with your head underwater and all that?" Dean screamed, demanding an answer. The sharpness of his words made Sophia flinch and cling her wet towel a bit closer to herself. But instead of cowering and shakily answering him, she unclenched her jaw slightly to relay her answer.

"I was meditating! And in less danger of killing myself than I am now, I was fully aware of where I was and what I was doing, thank you very much!" she yelled in sharply, her bark of an answer shocking both young men as they jumped slightly. "I had just slipped under before you came in and broke my concentration. You broke the fucking door, too! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I— we thought you had been drowned… you were under the water and the tub was over flowing…" Why Sam seemed to be stumbling over his words so many times around her confused him to no end, any visible signs of anger left her face completely, replaced a light, thoughtful glance at the bag near Dean's feet.

"Well, I'm fine… but I'm not some helpless damsel in distress all the time, shit… Is that my bag?" she asked, her tone having lightened a little. Dean jumped a bit; remembering the bag, then turned slightly smiled, and kicked it towards her.

"Uh, yea, figured you might want some fresh clothes… or something. Nice car by the way, impressive collection of weapons." He commented sheepishly as she threw open the old leather case and dug through it.

"Oh, thanks. It's a very old collection, probably older than my car." She said as she lifted up a pair of jeans, and then shot each of them a quizzical glance.

"We'll, uh, give you some room…" Sam mumbled as he pushed his brother, reluctant to move as he was, to the other side of the hotel room. Walking over to the window, he could see nothing but black, the light hanging over the motel parking space, and the dimly illuminated Impala. Everything else was just blackness, just undefined space. All was quiet, except for one noise, one tiny little noise that caused him to spin around, almost as quickly as his had been spinning mind; a single sob that had betrayed his brother's stone like composure. "What the hell…Dean, when did you turn into one big chick-flick moment?"

"Shut up, Sammy. I got something in my eye, that's all!" he retorted, wiping furiously at his face.

"I can think of only two things that would make you act like that… either you thought you were going to lose someone you weren't ready to let go of… or you were thinking about mom…"

"Or both." Dean added quietly, not looking up at his kid brother for fear that he might lose it completely in front of him. But Dean never acted like this, even when he thought about either things, he was always the strong one, seeing him all emotional was almost blasphemous to Sam… blasphemous… different from the usual Dean… characteristics of a Baalberith's hold over a person… mom's warning… SHIT! Sam had to get himself as well as the girl as far away from Dean as he could before anymore of the symptoms started showing up. How would they do it? Where would they go and for how long?

"Alright kids," Dean began to say as he peeled off his shirt, "I'm going to try and get some sleep; you guys… do what you want. G'night" He said before flopping down on the untouched bed, passing out seconds before his head ever touched the pillow.

Just as he did this, Sophia exited the bathroom wearing a form fitting black fleece sweater, and faded, threadbare jeans, and some black knee-high, 2 inch heeled boots. Her ink black, damp curls hung lower than usual, framing her face perfectly, dramatically emphasizing the black eyeliner that gave Sophia a slight ancient Egyptian spin. She was by far the most captivating huntress of the supernatural he had ever seen.

"So, where are we off to now?" She asked as she tugged on a loose strand of her inky hair, Sam felt himself come undone.

"I—um, do you—ha… hungry?" by now she found his awkward behavior towards her to be quite cute, no one had ever reacted to her like that, hell, no one, except for her brother, had ever seen the vulnerable side of her before. The more time she spent around the Winchester brothers, the less she felt alone in the world, and she had always known how big and scary the world can be when it's just you against it.

"Do you think we could go fetch my car first? I'd feel a bit better if I knew that it wasn't still parked in front of that terrible place." Looking down she caught sight of a black string hanging out of the front pocket of her bag, pulling on the string she discovered that it was a tiger's eye pendant, "Hey, I've been looking for that!"

With a slight and muffled giggle she threw the black chording over her head and adjusted it tightly around her neck. The small stone put an extra bounce of confidence in each step she took, or so Sam had noticed as she strutted over to him where he had pinned himself breathlessly against the door. Fresh air… he needed fresh air; she was too much a vision of loveliness for him to handle after his recent revelation about his brother. And she picked up on his thoughts just as she stopped inches from his face. Swiveling her head to look at the shirtless sleeping form a few feet from them, a look of worry overlapped her new found giddiness.

"We should go now, this place might be a mess by the time we get back… but it would be a good idea to not witness the symptoms worsen." Gently touching Sam's arm, she felt him quiver in fear; the fear over a number of things, and the rapid procession of images and thoughts that flashed through her mind as it happened couldn't help but make her frown grow deeper. The last one befuddled her completely: Sam was visiting a cemetery, dressed formally, but he wasn't visiting just one headstone… there were at least three that her minds eye could catch. One was someone named Jessica, the other's was Dean's, and the third… sent a chill down her spine… was her own. And Sam seemed so lost and distraught; like he could never be redeemed. "Why would you think such a thing, Sam? We're not going anywhere…not like that… not for a long while." She said in attempted reassurance. He just kept the sad look in his eyes, slinking his arm around her waste and led her out the door.

"I know, but with all that happened earlier in the bathroom in consideration…" He attempted to say as he strolled over to the driver's side of the Impala, before he even knew it; Sophia was once again at his side, gently placing her forefinger over his lips.

"I've found it best in these kinds of situations to not talk about the unseen, or unknown. We don't know what's going to happen, this could be the easiest job in our history of hunting for all we know. Don't assume defeat before you even enter the battle, that'll knock your odds of winning down a notch or two." She said calmly, though in her mind she knew that if they weren't all extremely careful, Sam's vision would come to be. But it wouldn't just be the graves they saw… his would be there, too. She understood the severity of this particular hunt, it was not going to be as easy as she had said it would be, but going in calmly, and with a clear mind would definitely help.

The drive to the abandoned manor was a quiet one, as the Impala edged up the driveway Sam took a minute to gather his thoughts, hoping that this time he wouldn't stumble over them. The blue Camaro seemed as lifeless and forbidden as the manor as Sam stole his first glance at it. But by the look in Sophia's eyes he could tell the car was as precious to her as the Impala was to both Dean and himself. He felt more and more awkward as they neared the other car, like he was dropping a girl off after a first date. Knowing he wouldn't get a sentence out without totally screwing it up, he kept his expression short.

"Nice car." He winced as the words rolled out of his mouth, he sounded like some idiot 8th grader ogling at their best friends parents ride. Mentally, he smacked himself up the side of his head.

"Thanks, she's my baby; I've had her all my life, purrs like a kitten, runs like a race car." She said proudly as she leapt from the Impala, while sauntering over to the driver side door of the Camaro, she let her fingertips glide gently along the vehicle's hood, stars shone in her large brown eyes. This was her one true love, the one thing she had that would never let her down.

"Do you have a name for your car?" 'Damn!' Sam winced heavily once again, how much longer was he going to feel like he was acting retarded around this girl? His nerves eased, however, when he heard the soft chuckle escape her lips.

"Foxy Lady; mostly because she's just gorgeous… but partially because a fox is a big help on a 'regular' hunt… does the Impala have a name?"

"It might, I don't know it… It's Dean's car, not mine…"

"You ok? You seem to beating yourself up over something; I'm not annoying you with my silly car name… am I?" She asked carefully, whilst playing with her car keys.

"No, no, no! Not at all, it's just… I can't help but feel like I keep coming off like a total idiot to you. I either can't talk without stumbling over my words or I ask the dumbest questions. I don't know… maybe I'm just thinking too hard." He ended in a note of defeat as he slumped down on the front of the Impala. Sophia slowly walked over and leaned beside him.

"I don't agree with that at all, Mr. Winchester,"

"No?"

"Nope, your questions make me feel almost normal… what I wouldn't give to feel normal again… and the whole stumbling over your words thing? No ones ever been like that towards me, it's… enjoyable. I mean, not a whole lot of people have had to chance to act like that over me… not a whole lot of people have seen the vulnerable side of me, either. It's a nice change, I feel comfortable around you and Dean… I feel especially safe around you, Sam." To emphasize her point, she placed a hand on his forearm, lovingly. But as she did so, a flash of images zipped through her mind; the motel room, clothes, furniture and other things being thrown about madly, and Dean wildly picking a fight with either one of them, the images came to a close with one long snippet: them pulling up to the room and Dean running out to demand where they had been.

After quickly withdrawing her hand and immediately placing it under her chin, she looked inquisitively at the dirt underneath her car. So the Baalberith had taken hold of both Kim AND Dean… their odds of surviving this hunt were growing weaker by the second. Time was running out, they had to find a way to stop the spirits of the manor and they had to do it quickly.

"What's the matter? What did you see?" the young Winchester asked eagerly, "I don't end up turning against you… do I?" After a moment or two, she brought her head up to face him, eyes glittering with set determination.

"No… but if we're going to take one of the cars back to the motel, then we'd better do it quickly. I mean in and out." And before he knew what was happening, she was already unlocking the car door.

"Are we taking the Impala or your car after we get there?" He called as he jumped down from the car and jumped behind the wheel.

"Uh… I'd say we should leave the Impala for tonight." She called over the roar of the revving vintage engine.

* * *

Meanwhile at the motel, Dean tossed and turned restlessly, his mind reeling with thousands upon thousands of thoughts. Many to most of them about Sophia, she was a hot little number, and just his luck, the one person she seemed interested in was… Sam. Who was it that more than likely got ALL the babes… why? Because of his boyish grin, and college boy vibe; why do all the chicks go for the studious guys? They never did in high school, it was easy as shit to reel them in back in high school. 

'SHIT! This jealousy thing really is a bitch… especially when you're jealous of your little brother… there has to be some rule somewhere, like in the code of brother's or something?... yea, there has to be something that I can do about it.' He thought as he lay on his back; letting the moldy scent of the old, decaying motel room fill his lungs with rotten air, and his mind with malicious and terrible thoughts, a small grin played upon his lips as he began scheming ways of getting the young huntress all to himself, 'Hell, I could go as far as killing him…'

As soon as the awful thought flitted into his head, he shook it away. 'NO! He's my brother, my partner in all this, I can't _kill_ him!' the sneaky grin returned again, '… but if I _did_… I'd have an instant replacement… an even more skilled replacement… I'd have _her_; I really don't have need for him anymore. I could make it look like an accident, like he crashed my car… then it would be just Sophia and me, on the dark, empty highways in her hot little Camaro.' His grin widened to an eerie smile, as his devious plan became clearer, more detailed. He knew exactly what he would do.

And then, he saw them…

The blindingly bright headlights of his sweet Chevy, paired with those that he would soon travel the long lonely roads behind. The Camaro. He tried to contain the emotions that were sprinting their way to his head, but there were too many for him to handle, all the hate, jealousy, lust, greed, yearning, it was too much to keep in for a second longer. So he grabbed everything within arms reach and began throwing it about, not knowing exactly why, but everything seemed to be begging Dean to make each item fly… just for a moment. There, enough flight of the inanimate, now time to greet the children, and see how much of his scheme he could pull off right at that moment luckily Sam had carelessly forgotten to put out the salt and charms to ward off demonic attacks and such… it had been his turn … he swung open the door, the first thing he caught was the dark swirl of inky curls that swung around Sophia's angelic head, it was almost enough to melt his heart and tame the raging beast that could not be held down for some reason… almost.

The fear in those mesmerizing chocolate orbs drove his primal anger to a dangerous level that even he didn't recognize. They flew from his half clothed body to his target, his prey… Sam.

"You!" Dean growled murderously at his younger brother, momentarily forgetting about the terrified young woman standing helplessly on the other side of the second car. "Do you have any idea what you did?"

"Uh…"

"You left our room wide open for demonic attack! Need I remind you that it was your turn to plant the salt and whatnot… no wonder she was attacked while I was gone!" he screamed, not caring if he woke up half of Georgia. But a soft voice and a light hand on his bare shoulder stilled his fury.

"Dean, he didn't mean to, I was probably distracting him. I'm sorry; I hope nothing attacked you while we were gone." Her voice and touch soothed the fire that radiated from him, "We're about to go run and get some food; here, hold onto this while we're gone," she loosened her tiger's eye pendant choker and placed it over Dean's head in an almost seductive manor, "Take good care of it, it was the last thing my mother gave me before she died; I don't know what I'd do without it, it's been my good luck charm since I was a toddler, it'll keep you safe until we return."

The distant, thoughtful look in her eyes melted whatever icy evilness that had formed in the older man. Such a selfless act, putting herself in the line of danger to protect him; he instantly felt like an ugly bastard.

"Okay," he gasped, to caught up in her gesture to think about his own evil scheme.

"Want us to bring something back for you?"

"No, no I'm fine, thanks." He didn't notice it, but she was staring deeply into his eyes in search of evil spirits at work on the older Winchester brother. Even though his hair wasn't remotely long enough, she brushed her hand over his face as if she were to push away a chunk of hair, after finding no negative forces lurking within the windows to his soul she began to edge back over towards her car.

"Alright then, we'll be back soon. Try and get some rest, you look like you could use a few hours in a coma." She joked as she fished for her car keys, hoping that Dean wouldn't notice her action, that he wouldn't notice just how petrified she was of him; she knew what had taken hold of him, and she wasn't sure if she could handle losing yet another friend to this evil being… this fallen angel. Even without the stone around her neck, its power worked in her favor; she had subdued the beast that Baalberith had unleashed, and the only person that seemed to notice her frantic search for an exit was Sam.

"You're an angel, Phia." Dean said with one of his trademark grins, with her back turned to the eldest brother her smile of relief fade altogether, she was quick to hide it with a fake one as she turned back to him, "If anyone is going to beat this Baalberith bastard, it's gotta be you…"

"And how do you figure that one, exactly?"

"Oldest trick in the book, negate the insanely evil with something unbelievably beautiful and pure… you." For a split second he almost had her thinking that it was the real Dean saying it, for a moment she wished it had been, but she had seen too much to prove otherwise. But perhaps there was truth in what he said, from the second she met them, she noticed that Dean was a cynical, sarcastic type, not entirely optimistic and sweet like Sam… Kim had been the same way, which pieced together for Sophia why the two were so easily seduced by the fallen cherub. Perhaps they weren't seduced; maybe they had no choice in the matter? Whichever it was; she wasn't certain. She only knew that getting to either her or Sam would take a bit more energy for the creature; a thought that gave Sophia a tiny feeling of comfort.

After a moment she realized she had been staring at Dean since he had answered her, smiling outwardly, she opened the car door, looked back at the brother and nodded once.

"Perhaps, Dean Winchester, you have just given me the last puzzle piece to my conundrum… I'm afraid a thank you is all I can give in return." Sophia announced cordially as she ducked into the Camaro, but by the simply twitch in the right corner of his mouth and the slight wave of his hand, he would accept nothing more than a simple thank you… for now.

* * *

**Again, hope you enjoyed this one, more craziness and Winchester fun to come! Feel free to review, paising or pointing out mistakes and whatnot... it's your choice, I'll have 5 up soon...  
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	5. Some Southern Hospitality

**It's been a while, but I've got this chapter and possibly two more ready for you guys. Sorry for the delay. But I noticed the date and absolutely _had_ to update, it just seems really fitting, that and these chapters are finally ready. So enjoy, and please feel free to review!**

* * *

The drive to town was an eerily quiet one; Sophia gripped the wheel so tightly her knuckles went past white and were turning blue. A look of pain and fear was engraved into her features; the silence was enough to drive both of them mad; it especially tormented Sam, who felt partially responsible for her recent scare. 

"I see you've caught on… the Baalberith got to Dean, too." He began quietly; he was surprised to see that the stress of his brother's outburst hadn't caused her gash to reopen… again.

"I knew since before we went to pick up the car… I—I just didn't really want to believe it, I guess. I mean, I don't know him as well as you do, but I'd been hoping he was stronger than that… more untouchable than that," she paused for a moment to stifle a small sob, "but the way he just busted out of the motel room… if he was armed… it would have been like watching Kim turn on me all over again. I wouldn't have been able to approach him like I did, who knows what could have happened." Silent tears ran fleeing from her eyes as she spoke through her clenched jaw, and Sam felt like someone had ripped out his heart and shoved it into a paper shredder.

"…ha, uh, um… he _was_ armed. I thought you saw the dagger, too; he always keeps that thing on him… he says its extra safety or something, I think he's just paranoid, this job does that to yo—" he stopped mid-word after he stupidly remembered that she did the exact same thing they did; instead of whipping her head to toss a death glare his way, she pivoted her head slightly and smiled.

"It's ok, I know what you mean. Trevor was paranoid as hell; I would always poke fun at him for some of the _safety measures_ that he would take. He would bring Cleo, our black cat, with us on every hunt… just for the 'luck'." She chuckled slightly in remembrance of her brother's goofy antics, but she stopped quickly afterwards. "…Trevor." And suddenly the tears were back, and falling with twice the fury and force then before.

"Don't worry," he said he put a consoling hand on her shoulder, "somewhere out there, our dad is hunting the entity that got mom, Trevor, and…"

"I'm not big on rules, but there is ONE big rule that I live by for this car… only one blubbering fool at a time. So you'll just have to wait your turn!" Sophia explained calmly, instantly quieting her fellow hunter.

And once again there was silence; although, this time it wasn't the cumbersome, awkward silence which had lasted for about as long as the brief chick-flick moment that broke the uncomfortable part of the drive void of talking.

"Any ideas on what to do now?" Sam asked, silently hoping for an easy resolution to their new conundrum.

"Well, for as susceptible as Dean turned out to be against the Baalberith's power… he's not too far gone." She glanced briefly at the young man in the passenger seat as soon as she felt his awed stare boring into her. His expression screaming for her to elaborate, "It was what he said as we were leaving… he basically told us what we need to do in order to stop the former prince of the Cherubim."

"Negate great evil with an equally great good… how are we going to do that? And how can you tell from that one comment that there's still hope for my brother?" inquired the confused Winchester.

"Because: Why tell us how to save your brother and Kim if the hellion had total control over him? He wouldn't want us to even try; he wouldn't be giving us clues. Somewhere inside of him…" she said with a fool's hope, "Dean is trying to fight this thing off. And perhaps… perhaps Kim was doing the same thing last night; for as much as our cherub friend was coaxing her to kill me… she was fighting it; which would explain how I was able to get away! Yes, it all makes perfect sense now!" She exclaimed as she brought her hand down heavily on the steering wheel, which caused the horn to ring out in the middle of what seemed like an endless stretch of livestock. A cow's head shot up from the side of the road and let out a low 'moo' in reaction.

Sophia clapped a hand over her mouth and tried not to look too shocked over the whole ordeal. Sam just chuckled, his eyes glittering with as much laughter as he was voicing.

"Oops, I didn't mean to do that!" she cried, a little embarrassed but very amused by what followed her actions. The two rode down the dark, baron road, entertained by the humorous accident, and spirits lifted by the re-entrance of any chance to hope concerning their dark, ominous predicament.

"Are we not going to the diner from last night?" Sam asked quizzically.

"Nope, we are going to a place a bit further away, the food is much better and its run by Kim's folks. It's where I found her when I wound up back in this shit-hole; feels like ages since I saw her folks last. For as back-road red-neck as they are… they're good people." She paused momentarily, seemingly racking her brains out to remember the exact directions to the little restaurant. "And they're _damn_ good cooks; hell, for _them_… I might consider eating grits."

"But last night— you… I thought you said you were allergic to grits?" 'Oh, there you go again, Sam, back to being a stuttering fool! You were doing _so_ well, too!' He looked completely lost for a second, and then proceeded to heave a heavy sigh of defeat. Would he ever fully figure this girl out?

"Oh Sam, this is the backwoods of Georgia. There's no disliking grits without getting your ass shot or something. You either like them, LOVE them, or you're allergic to them. And that last one is the only possible way out of having them slopped all over everything. Personally, the thought of poking that stuff is utterly revolting to me," she explained while keeping her sad, yet pensive eyes on the road, "and the texture is way too conspicuous for my liking. It's even worse when they throw other things in it to make it 'better'. But the grits that Kim's folks make… those don't have the consistency of sawdust Jell-o. Which almost makes it appear edible." She turned quickly to Sam to flash him a comically disgusted look, "**Almost** being the operative word."

The wretchedly repulsed face made Sam laugh so hard, for a moment there he thought he was just some average Joe Blow having a late night out on the town with his best friend and/or girlfriend. It simply amazed him that no matter how grim life got, so long as she had some form of company, so long as she wasn't in it alone… she could still find a right and reason to smile, or just be goofy. After all, laughter IS one of the greatest therapies.

It was near midnight by the time the deep blue Camaro pulled into the lengthy dirt driveway. The restaurant was a large Victorian style, plantation mansion that had been renovated into a large, classy, southern hospitality restaurant in the middle of what Sophia called 'Bum-fuck-Egypt, Stickville, GA'. Considering how late it was, Sam was surprised to see that the lights were still on and an orchestral version of 'The Charleston' was booming from the backyard of the establishment.

"They're still open this late?" He asked, not believing the still thriving night scene before him.

"Kim's folks are the night owl type. They sleep through most of the day, start drinking immediately, cook and party until the sun comes up. It's a crazy lifestyle… completely different from that of our own. But the Coleman's… the second they say hello to you, and welcome you inside… suddenly everything's alright; nothing has to be stressful or painful anymore." Even for as rapidly as she shook her head, Sam could tell that she was fighting back an eternity of tears, "It's like magic… It's the magic of the South."

Her last few words were blatantly mock-southern. Neither could help laughing lightheartedly at the accent. Reaching for the door, Sophia lifted her arm to knock, but just as her fist was about to gently knock on the large, ornate, mahogany door; it flew open. And both young hunters found themselves face to face with a little middle aged woman; the only creases and wrinkles on her round little face were signs that for a grand majority of her life she did nothing but smile and laugh. As the lady recognized who the young woman at her doorstep was, her wrinkled face curled in a bit more with a genuine, large smile.

"Well, Hell spells, look what the cat dragged in! Ms. Phia Verastegui, come in, come in!" she cried as she ushered Sophia and Sam into the building. As soon as they passed through the threshold the two were surrounded by people; normal people. Laughing, eating, drinking shamelessly, 9 to 5, careless, normal people; the very people they had sworn since childhood to save. Had Sam not been there, standing by her side, Sophia would have felt like a total outsider. She clutched to his hand to relay the thought to him, and the comforting squeeze she received told her that he felt the exact same way.

So on they went, following Kim's mother flit about from table to table introducing the young hunters to the restaurant usuals. Every once and again they would come to a table where at least one patron would warn one hunter or the other to hold on to each other tightly, or else by the end of the night one of them would get stolen away. And in the spirit of acting normal, they laughed in reaction and drew together rather closely for a moment or two. Sam was instantly Sophia's boyfriend taking the week off from some distant college to go on this road trip with her to come visit Kim. Neither of them seemed to mind the lie, because at some level, it had somewhat become truth.

After the stout woman introduced the couple to the last occupied table, she ushered them to the actual house portion of the building. "Oh, it's so loud in here; let's go somewhere a tad less noisy, you two look like you've got a lot on your minds that need unloading. C'mon, follow me." She said as she grabbed Sophia's free hand and led them up the stairway hidden in the back of the kitchen.

On the second floor they were lead to the richly decorated living room. Before she knew it, Sophia had plopped herself down onto the overstuffed couch, Sam remained standing, he walked about the room a bit, studying every little detail of the Deep Southern Wealth that was on a ridiculous display.

"Oh my, Ms. Phia, you look like you've been starved for months… you, too, Mr. Winchester. I'll have one of the waiters bring up some goodies for the two of you." The little woman said despairingly, pivoting she left the room.

"Are you going to tell her about what happened to Kim?" He asked the second he knew the mother was out of earshot.

"I have to, that's part of the reason why we came here. That and I know she would expect me to tell her if anything happened to Kim. Mrs. Jaci knows what I… what we do; she's one of the few normal people that understand and accept what we do. It'll be hard to tell her exactly what happened, but she trusts me enough to get her daughter out of any danger she might find herself in." Sophia stated in an eerie calm. Ending her sentence with perfect timing, seconds later Mrs. Coleman returned carrying three mint juleps.

"Mrs. Coleman, how do you always know when I'm about to knock on your door, or when I have a craving for mint juleps?" she asked as she graciously took one of the glasses.

"Sweetie, I think _that_ is something that with your line of work, only you could explain—" Jaci stopped cold when she caught sight of the gash on the huntress' forehead, as Sophia pulled back the chunk of hair that had hung on her face. She nearly dropped her drink as she rushed over to sit down next to the girl. "Oh, Darlin! Are you okay… what happened? Was your hunt successful?"

Sophia brought her focus on the young man standing before her and Jaci, and then she returned her gaze to the worried mother beside her. She placed her hands over Jaci's before she spoke.

"The fallen angel we told you about; the Baalberith? He's taken a hold of Kim; she nearly killed me last night, and helped the former cherub take hold of Sam's older brother, Dean. But we're going to get them back… safely. I promise you, Mrs. Jaci, I'll rescue Kim from this creature." she vowed with a stern expression, overlaid by guilt.


	6. Jaci Coleman's Journal

"Alright," she said after a minute or two of letting the knowledge sink in, she went from shock to calm and trusting, "you've never given me reason not to trust you, Phia. But that doesn't explain two other things that I'm very interested in hearing about…" she said expectantly. Sophia merely tilted her head to signify to the woman to ask away, "Child, what happened to your forehead! And were did you meet this handsome gentleman?" Sam smiled sheepishly as he realized that he was being brought into the conversation.

"Haha… While I was running away from the hunt-site I must have tripped and landed on one of those wonderfully sharp rocks. I honestly don't remember half of my escape. I mean, one minute I was being cornered by certain death, the next my flashlight dies on me and I nearly get hit by his brother's car. They were nice enough to take me with them, and they've been looking out for me since." Mrs. Coleman pouted out her lower lip as she got up to fetch some Neosporin for the head wound.

"Has this fallen cherub claimed any others? I mean… anyone aside from Kim and your brother?" Jaci asked, giving Sam a sorrowful side glance.

"Not that we know of; I don't think anyone else has been up there in years, nobody else in the county was showing nor has shown any of the symptoms. People fear the place, and rightfully so… I just can't piece together _how_ they would even know about it." She stalled for a moment, remembering how she came by the information that would spew forth the terrible events from the past day or so. As the girl pondered, Sam took note of the nervously shifting woman sitting in the old leather armchair in front of them.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Coleman?" he asked, the small woman froze as the sound of his voice drifted into her ears. The look in her eyes told him that speaking about unpleasant things wasn't exactly a praised thing in these parts.

"Well, it happened a very long time ago; why, I must have been at most half your age, Phia. Back when there was a family actually living in that old shack of a place; a young respectable gentleman, a lawyer I believe, the wife was a very suspicious woman. Oh, and those poor little darling children! They had three children; the oldest couldn't have been any older than ten; sweet, sweet children, two girls and a baby boy. Anyway, for as long as I can remember the entire town thought Gemma Graemelle, the lady of the manor, was some kind of witch; said she consorted with the devil, did and asked favors from demons, bewitched people for all sorts of things," Jaci retold with hyper, theatrical hand gestures, while the two hunters listened intently.

"She had a rather cruel disposition; the men in town ignored her completely, the women would get squeamish around her, and children feared her and ran away the second they would see her coming their way." She snapped her fingers, rather loudly, to emphasize 'second'. The snapping had caught Sophia off guard, causing her to have a short spasm. "One day, there was an argument amongst me and my friends; they didn't believe that she was putting spells on the town folk. Some people had fallen mysteriously ill and sometimes they'd get _SO_ bad that they died. They didn't think that it had anything to do with Mrs. Graemelle… but my brother, Billy Ray and I thought differently. So, the next day, Billy-Ray, myself and two of our skeptic friends followed her home from the market. But she didn't go home… not exactly; she went to the carriage house that looked about as stable as a tower of playing cards. I don't quite remember how we snuck in the place, but we did it." Her aged and wrinkled eyes glazed over as if she were seeing the years fly backwards to the time of her to the time of her story. "What we saw next… I had never been so terrified in my entire life, up to that point and ever since! Now, apparently while she was at the market, one of the locals scolded Mrs. Graemelle for being wicked to his daughter, and he said that her poor husband deserved better and he pitied her children, made a scene about how damaged those poor little souls were just because _she_ was the one who brought them into this world.

"So, upon returning to her carriage house, she went wild with rage! I'd never seen such a fit before! It took her a while to calm down again, but, oh, when she did… it was worse than her bout of hysterics! Slowly, calmly, she began speaking in languages that nearly knocked us four little children on our behinds!" For as dramatic as the story was, Sam felt he was seconds away from laughing; when Sophia had been mocking her late aunt's southern accent… it sounded quite similar to Mrs. Coleman's authentic accent.

"The way she walked around that little carriage house; back and forth, back and forth, snatching bits of things from all over… why, she looked as if she were waltzing! She sounded and appeared fine, but you could hear it in her footsteps; something in her had snapped, you could sense the insanity with each heavy stomp. Like she was summoning Satan himself to help her brew her next spell… for all I know she may have, it was the last spell that Gemma Graemelle would ever cast.

"For as finely studied as she was in Demonology and other kinds of Black magic… I don't think she had the slightest clue just what kind of darkness she was bringing about. Whatever evil things she had wished for… she got them, but not without paying a terrible cost for it. Old Mr. Lyle, the man that had snapped at her in the market… he went crazy and killed his entire family before he ended his own life. Her curse was far from over, sad to say. Many a' folk went crazy, people that you'd never expect to snap, and all turned around and murdered their own families before killing themselves.

"It was a very dark time, the town population plummeted, and businesses either went under or simply ceased to be; Billy-Ray stopped going to school because he got quite upset by how empty it had become. The only things that were thriving were graveyards and funeral homes. Ever since that day I had kept close tabs on Gemma, she was quite pleased by her damage… until one day, her husband (a very reserved, open minded, sweet gentleman) turned on her, and slaughtered their sweet innocent children. The killings stopped that day, we've had nothing past death by natural causes ever since. Hell, we haven't even seen the symptoms of such slaughter since then." She said as she leaned back into the arm chair, folded her hands daintily on her lap, and finished with a deep sigh. Sam, for the most part, understood the story, but there was something… something he couldn't quite place that troubled him. He turned his head to see if Sophia caught _whatever_ it was that evaded him.

Sophia had been deathly still, focused on the story and its speaker with wide eyes for some time now. She remained that way for a moment or two, blinked, and winced from the dryness of her eyes, she quickly shook it off before making sure she had understood every detail of the woman's tale correctly.

"And now it's been so long since it happened… people consider it legend?" Sophia asked finally, as the older woman nodded her head sadly, "And the people that survived it choose not to remember any of it…"

"Most refuse to even talk about such dark times; they'll just say that those were some 'unfortunate days'." Mrs. Coleman said with an extra thick, haughty, posh-southern accent, bringing about a partial grin from Sam. Feeling a monstrous migraine forming just behind the gash on her forehead, Sophia leaned her head back and gasped for air as quietly as she could before turning back to Sam and Mrs. Jaci.

"Is there any other information that you can give us about the curse or the demon?" she asked as Mrs. Coleman placed her empty glass on the coffee table separating her from the young couple and began to stand up.

"I actually may have something that might help you better than my old, faded memory. When I was a girl I was obsessed with recording everything that I experienced, and I distinctly remember keeping a separate journal on the subject… Now, if I can remember where it is…" she said softly, scanning over the bookcase behind her chair, "Ah, I remember now." She exclaimed, running out of the room. The couple exchanged glances, and Sam melted by the look of unyielding hope that glittered in her eyes.

"Here it is… my goodness, how many years has it been since I've looked at this one?" Jaci cried as she burst back into the large, ornate, crème colored living room; dusty journal, with pictures and pages hanging haphazardly and partially out. Handing it to the girl, Sophia carefully took it, eyeing the item as if it would shatter if she touched it incorrectly.

"Wow, did you investigate the curse? I don't think I've ever gathered this much information for a single hunt in all my years…" she said as she slowly leafed through the journal. "Articles, obituaries, personal photos… all from an 11 year old; this is amazing, and a lot more information than I was hoping to come across."

"You even had lists of victim names? Mrs. Coleman, are you sure you're not a hunter?" Sam said with a grin, Jaci just giggled and shook her head energetically. They both became quiet as they took note of the small, strangled cry that escaped from Sophia's lips. They watched silently as she quivered at the recognition of one of the victim's names, she wiped furiously at her eyes, determined to keep her tears from smudging the carefully laid ink on the journal pages.

"You okay?" she threw her head in Sam's direction as he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. Pain dripped from her eyes, and left shiny streaks of torment on her cheeks; after a moment of looking at him without recognition, she forced out a laugh, but the laugh didn't go any further upward on her face from her lips.

"It, uh, it seems that my family has a bit of a history in these parts… and, um, it's not much of a good one." Turning the aged book towards him, she pointed to a list of a family's names, "My grandfather, his step-wife, and their two kids; one of the last family's killed."

Sam gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, while Jaci looked uncomfortably at her feet. Remembering the day Sophia's grandfather and his family was killed, she remembered attending their funeral, and she remembered standing at the two children's graves. Standing there, almost waiting for them to say something to her. She remembered, after standing there for what seemed like days, then as she walked away she said, 'Told you she was responsible.'

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**Ok, Mrs. Coleman; Kim's mom... loves to talk... obviously. Hopefully this chapter helps the story to make more sense, just in case anybody gets confused at all... I got this on lockdown! lol. Ok, one more chapter to go for today, and I'll try to add more by the end of June. Thanks for being patient, review if you'd like, and get ready for more spooky fun!  
**


	7. Blood on a Full Moon

**Okay, final update for June the 6th... hope you guys have enjoyed these updates. I know I much enjoyed writting them! And now back to the story...**

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They had left over an hour ago, and Dean was still lying on his back, staring at the ceiling in a daze; smitten, his thumb and forefinger still rubbing the stone that hung at the base of his neck. He could still feel her warm breath on his skin from when she placed the necklace around his neck and whispered angelically. He knew that she had purposely distracted him from going psycho on his kid brother in the parking lot, but for right now he didn't care; she had touched him, given him something that was priceless to her. He was on cloud nine. 

A sudden burst of energy erupted in Dean's chest, and he sprang into an upright position in bed. He gaped at the mirror nailed above the tiny motel dresser; he stared at himself for a while. Then something he had not expected happened: His reflection started talking to him.

"She was only protecting him to repay him for picking her unconscious ass off the side of the road; just a kind gesture. But you…it's obvious she's got feelings for you. She sure as hell wouldn't give Sammy something as precious as this," Mirror-Dean touched the necklace, Dean mirrored his reflection, "You could tell by the way she touched your shoulders, she'd rather be with _you_ right now than be with your lame ass brother." Dean twisted his mouth into a lopsided, pensive grin as he looked at the foot of the bed for a moment, and then returned his gaze to the mirror.

"How am I supposed to fix that? I don't know where they went. Hell, they could have ditched me for all I kno—" Mirror-Dean began to laugh, shaking his head.

"If that girl is going to run out on anyone, it's going to be Sam; you know that. And don't worry, I know where they went, I'll direct you there. Now, get your _ass_ out of bed, throw some clothes on, and go claim the girl." Mirror-Dean demanded, Dean leapt out of the bed, his mind void of any desire to argue.

Even as he sped down the dark country roads, with the old school Metallica screaming out of the stereo, he had no trouble understanding Mirror-Dean's directions. Finally, after he pulled into the dirt drive and killed the engine behind Sophia's drop dead gorgeous Camaro; he leapt out of the Impala and strode up to the door of the large mansion/restaurant. Making his way inside he asked the first person within arms reach if they had recently seen a brunette in a black sweater and jeans come in with a goofy looking tall guy. The young waitress, who couldn't have been much older than 17, said that they had followed the owner of the establishment up to the house portion of the building earlier.

"Could you go find her and tell her that Dean needs to talk to her, it's _very_ important; she'll understand." The girl nodded, melting a bit as Dean flashed the most seductive smile he could muster, and with a light pat on her shoulder, she raced off on her mission to find Sophia.

* * *

The three had been sitting in a zoned out silence for a few minutes, none of them realizing that the others had retreated into their own personal memory lane of pain. Seconds later, a young waitress burst into the room.

"Uhm, sorry to disturb you guys, but there's someone downstairs who wants to talk to a Sophia… he says it's _very_ important…" Looking up at the waitress, Sophia noticed a sheen of jealousy in her eyes that seemed to shoot daggers at the huntress. Sheepishly, she handed Sam the journal.

"Must be one of the locals I talked to the other day. I told them to contact me if anything else came to them… though, I don't know how they would know to find me here. I shouldn't be too long, excuse me." As she exited the room with the waitress, she told Sophia that the man would be waiting for her in the backyard, and then proceeded to guide her in that general direction. It wasn't until she was about 30 to 40 feet away from the mansion that the cold feeling creeping up her spine told her that she had made a bad decision in straying so far from the protection of the house. Whirling around, she found herself face to face with Dean. Though she was frightened and caught off guard, the look in his eyes told her that he wasn't going to hurt her; causing her tense muscles to ease slightly.

"Dean!" she tried to not sound surprised, but her voice seemed to betray her, "How did you know where to find me?" 'Keep calm; keep yourself calm and he won't be tempted to hurt you… or, hopefully, anyone else.'

"I had been planning to check this place out, the receptionist at the motel suggested it, then I saw your car… ha, what are the odds of that, right?" he asked jovially, while he fixed his sight on the ground between their feet in hopes of hiding the look of utter grief in his eyes; but Sophia was quicker than that and felt her heart begin to crack and break in reaction. In that moment of silence, he took a step towards her as she took one frantic step back. He jerked his head to his left, as he attempted to hide the depressed expression once more and once again in vain. She didn't exactly need to see his face to understand the emotions that coursed through him; causing her to swiftly berate herself for recoiling.

"Dean, I— " He cut her off simply by looking her in the eyes. The anguish in his silenced the words that had been forming, ready to spill from her mouth.

"You've figured out what happened to me. You can see that I'm fighting it as _hard_ as I can." She simply looked at him, regret etched in her features. "And I wanted, uh, I wanted to apologize for going off on him and all. I saw that it scared you, and the idea of scaring you… it made me fight the temptation even harder." He seemed to be searching for his next words. But Sophia beat him to it.

"I knew it; I knew it since we left the motel. You _are_ fighting him… and it seems to me that you're winning. Oh god, Dean; you have no idea how relieved I am about this!" She exclaimed as she hugged the older man, and instead of his usual reaction to such sudden shows of intimacy, he immediately returned the embrace and began to rock her gently; with one hand he ran it from the top of her head down to the middle of her back. He repeated this action for a few minutes, then tilted her face to look straight at his, smiling sweetly.

"Let's walk a bit, I find there's something very calming about this place. And you _definitely_ look like you need to calm down a bit… c'mon" He said as he offered her his arm, and off they went into the woods that surrounded the building they were at.

The woods were just as mangled, foreboding and downright creepy as Sophia remembered them being when she was younger; but since the Winchester brother's had rescued her from the side of the road two nights prior, she realized that she had never felt so safe in her entire life. So she walked onward, arm in arm with the slightly older man with less fear in each step than she had ever walked. Still, she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. There were no supernatural warning alarms buzzing, no mental images flying through her head, Mary & Trevor were being rather quiet… there was nothing. She didn't know if the silence and the stillness should be comforting, or if she should be treading _extra_ carefully. She was baffled and Dean saw it as clearly as he could see the nose on her face.

"Something on your mind? I'm all ears if you feel like spilling the beans…" he stated, raising his head to examine the clear night sky infested by an army of stars; Sophia followed suit immediately; gasping when she saw the blood and unnaturally large halo around the full moon. "Phia?"

"Blood on the moon, large halo around that, FULL moon; shit!" their faces met and he caught the flash of pure fear in her eyes. He could tell she was searching; searching to find a way back inside, a reason to get away from him. His strong hands latched onto her arms, just above her elbows as he looked at her with deep concern.

"Sophia; Soph… what's wrong?"

"Bad luck… oh shit, very bad luck," she paused and began to hyperventilate. She tried to struggle in his grip as a montage of images flew wildly through her mind. "Sam!" She whimpered, slowly sinking to the ground. "Sam; we _have _to get back to Sam, we need to stick together, or else… oh god, his nightmare, Dean, his nightmare is going to come true if we get separated tonight!" Dean followed her to the soil and root, his eyes burning with the fires of her hysterical fear. She was absolutely _FREAKING_ out, and he hadn't the slightest clue as to how he was going to deal with it.

"What nightmare, Sophia? What happens in the nightmare?" He had started with a rattled uncertain tone, which progressed into a petrified yell; they both sat there shaking. Sophia with her head buried in Dean's chest, sobbing, and Dean held her close and shakily rocked her, humming an AC/DC song. After a while, her sobs subsided to a mere rattled, harsh breathing and the occasional gasp for oxygen.

"I didn't mean to see it, damnit Dean, I didn't mean to look… he just seemed _so_ frightened!" She cried, Dean hushed her as she lay in his arms, he held her in his arms much like he had held baby Sammy on the night of the fire over 20 years ago. Gently he brushed the hair away from her face that seemed stuck there as a result of her own sweat and tears. She looked so helpless and small lying there; he now understood how his brother felt moments after he had removed her from the street a few nights before. 'He was captivated by this poor soul… while I was acting like a little bitch.' He thought, still rocking her as they both trembled, 'No wonder he snapped at me like that.'

"Shh, it's okay… what happened?" he breathed gently, it was barely audible; as he watched her battle to take another drag of air, he felt a dark heaviness fall away from himself. She yawned like a tired infant as he realized what had happened, she had freed him from the demonic hold he had fallen victim to. "You're okay, it's okay, I'm going to protect the both of you, don't worry. Now, please, what happened?"

There was a comfort in his voice that she hadn't been able to detect since before he had been taken. Slowly, she had began to retell what she had seen before the two youngest hunters left to retrieve her car, how scared Sam had been, how she felt she had lied to him to make sure he didn't make himself vulnerable to possession. She even told him about Mrs. Coleman's childhood story; how they now had enough information… they could destroy or be destroyed by the Baalberith by daybreak. "We have to stick together tonight… or we all die."

He gathered her closer to him, feeling how tired and cold she was. A soft kiss was planted on the top of her head; she had exhausted herself so much from crying that she could barely tell what Dean was doing. It was as if she had finally given up on 23 years of unyielding hope; she simply slumped, dejectedly in his embrace.

"C'mon Sophia, don't give up on me now," he begged as he carefully shook the limp little body, "Don't you dare give up on me now, you just saved me, we've got a fighting chance now… we've got to get Sammy." To which her only reaction was flickering her eyes open, and slowly rolling her head over to look at Dean's. "Yea, Sammy is still out there. Why don't we go get him?" he asked voice still shaky.

"I'm so tired, so very tired, Dean," she murmured, "But I can't…"

"Shh, just wrap your arms around my neck and I'll carry you." He said as he slung her right arm around his neck, looped his left around her waist, and his right under her knees. Then rocked forward onto is knees and hefted himself to a standing position; the movement caused Sophia's left arm to fall from being folded over her stomach to dangle limply at her side and her head to roll into a resting position against her right shoulder. Had it not been for the stuttered, sharp breathing she took as Dean began to walk back towards the building, he would have taken her dead-weight as a sign that the girl was, in fact, dead.

"You just rest for right now, Phia," he whispered delicately before planting another kiss on the girl's forehead. In quickening his pace to the mansion, it rolled back into view. Something in him said that speed was key for the moment, that something was following hastily behind them… something dangerous, "rest now, you're going to need your strength soon… we're almost there, now. Sam's not very far away anymore; it's almost over…"

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**Ahh! Until next time, I'm leaving you with a bit of a cliff hanger... not one as dramatic as the season finale, but a cliff hanger nonetheless. Later darlings!**  



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